The man who united a city as they reclaimed their club has spoken for the first time about the moment it was time to hand Swansea City back to its supporters.

And he claims it was a dreary December day in Macclesfield that he realised he could not stop the fans’ fight to end his controversial reign – and set the club on the path to the Premier League.

Tony Petty has broken his silence on his controversial time in charge of the Swans, a dark period in the club’s history that had many fearing for its future and mobilised loyal fans into action.

Having bought the-then lowly Swans for £1, the outspoken Australian-based businessman had outraged large sections of support by extreme cost-cutting measures – including attempts to sack six players – amidst various allegations of his running of the club.

Now, in a new feature-length film documenting the club’s incredible rags to riches story, Petty has revealed how the intimidation from some fans finally got to him and persuaded him to sell-up to a supporter-based consortium – the same group of businessmen fans that run the club today to great acclaim.

And the vilified former owner explains how FA Cup defeat to Macclesfield was the turning point as he realised there would be no bumper third-round gate to try and turn around the club’s finances on his own.

In the exclusive interview in the Jack to a King film, which is released this Friday, Petty claims he was let down by fellow businessmen when he bought the club leaving him with no cash to invest.

Public enemy No.1 in Swansea at the time, Petty reveals: “I was down in Brisbane and it was common knowledge at that time that Swansea had changed ownership. I rang up (then Swansea chief executive) Mike Lewis and he was very open. It wasn’t good. I had a chat with one of the wealthiest clubs in Queensland with a view to rescuing Swansea."

Watch: The full trailer of Jack to the King

Video Loading

Video Unavailable

Click to playTap to play

The video will start in 8Cancel

Play now

Petty continued: “I flew over to Swansea with the chairman of the Brisbane Lions and they were going to put the money in.

“Mike knew he couldn’t carry on. If we hadn’t appeared then he probably had one month or two at best before he would have gone under. That’s how bad it was.

“Unfortunately for me those guys flew back to Australia and somewhere down the line within the next week or two they decided to change their mind and it left me pretty much holding a baby.

“By that time Mike had relinquished power and I was there without the money.”

That saw Petty try to axe key players and fail to convince supporters he was not overseeing the death of the proud Vetch Field club.

Protests and pleas for him to sell-up had so far fallen on deaf ears before a FA Cup Second Round game at Moss Rose.

Having beaten QPR in an emotionally-charged game the previous round, victory could have brought cash into the coffers that could well have bought Petty time and scuppered fans hopes of the consortium – including former player Mel Nurse – winning the day.

But Petty reveals: “One match turned everything and that was the next round of the FA Cup (Macclesfield). That was it. That was the end.

“I thought at worst we would get a draw and we lost 4-1. The FA Cup had gone and we needed money. End of story.”

Within a month, fans had rallied to pay-off Petty and strike a £1 deal to buy the club in a Cardiff hotel with the Londoner effectively run out of town.

Petty claimed: “There was house bricks being thrown at many a car – mainly looking for my car.

“The intimidation was getting to me.

“I remember driving back and saying, ‘That’s it.’

“I thought there is only one buyer in town whether they are offering a pound or whatever.

The fans did have a go as the takeover went through in January, with the Supporters Trust that gained huge numbers in protest of Petty gaining a place on the board that they still hold today.

With Huw Jenkins eventually installed as chairman, the Swans stopped the bleeding and – after dramatically avoiding relegation from the Football League the following season – began their rise up the divisions that has seen them reach the top-flight, win a first major English trophy, compete in Europe and head into a table-topping Premier League clash with Chelsea next weekend.

The film, which has its London premiere in Leicester Square 24 hours before the Stamford Bridge fixture, also reveals how Jenkins turned down the chance of playing for the Swans as a up-and-coming goalkeeper – because he wanted to watch the game with his mates on the Vetch’s North Bank.

Jenkins said: “I did train with the Swans and play a couple of times. Then I had the chance to sign for them.

“But I decided I’m not going to sign and I’m going to go around to the North Bank and meet my mates and have a day out watching the Swans.”

One of those mates included Martin Morgan, the businessman who would later be involved in the buy-out to oust Petty.

And the rest, as this fascinating film reveals, is history.

* Jack to a King: The Swansea Story, directed by Bafta award-winning director Marc Evans (Patagonia, Hinterland), is in selected cinemas from September 12.